Holiday Turkey
I love Thanksgiving & the holidays in general. I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving in a family that was full of aunts, uncles & cousins, not to mention countless friends who joined our clan every year.
I’ve been making this turkey recipe for years & it never, ever, ever disappoints. The turkey is juicy & delicious every time. The brining process is crucial to the turkey perfection. You can’t skip it. It’s not hard & I’ll tell you exactly what to do {see pic below}.
Take your turkey & put it in a large 2 gallon baggie. Then add your cooled brine to the baggie & set it down inside of a large stock pot. Cover it & place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you don’t have room in your fridge, just put it in a cooler filled with ice & keep an eye on it to make sure the ice doesn’t melt & drop the temperature of your meat.
Holiday Turkey
ingredients
for the brine:
1 gallon water
1 cup fine sea salt
for the turkey:
1 whole, bone-in turkey breast (5 to 7 pounds)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons ghee
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 small bunch of each: fresh oregano leaves, fresh sage leaves & fresh thyme leaves, all chopped
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup white wine {or chicken broth if you don’t use wine}
directions
make the brine:
rinse the turkey & place it in a 2 gallon baggie {see picture & description above}.
in a large stock pot, bring the gallon of water to a boil & add in salt. continue to boil 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve the salt. remove from stove top.
let the brine cool to room temperature. {this will take 1-2 hours} pour brine over turkey & seal the baggie. place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
make the turkey:
preheat the oven to 325.
remove the turkey from the brine & rinse in cool water. using white cotton towels or paper towels, pat dry & set aside.
in a small pan, place the olive oil, ghee, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, salt & pepper. over low heat, melt the ghee & whisk to combine all the ingredients. remove the pan from the burner & add in the fresh herbs. stir. set aside to cool 10 minutes.
place the turkey in a roasting pan & loosen all the skin. use about 3/4 of the mixture & spread all over the turkey under the skin, directly on the meat. lay the skin back down, using your hands to press the oils & seasonings all over, then make sure the skin is laying flat over the meat to lock in moisture.
rub remaining 1/4 of the oil & seasonings all over the outside skin & the bottom of the turkey.
pour the white wine around the turkey.
place in the oven & cook 1-1/2 to 2 hours. about 3 times during the cooking, use a baster to moisten the turkey all over. make sure you use a meat thermometer to check for doneness in the thickest part of the turkey breast. {it should read 165}
slice & serve warm with pan juices.